We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful THOMAS NUMPRASONG. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with THOMAS below.

THOMAS, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

We once did a dinner for about 15 people in a new home. After the dinner, my Sous Chef filled the kitchen sink with warm water so we could get started on the dishes. Moments later, the entire sink fell through the countertop and down into the cabinet and water started shooting out everywhere. We were able to shut off the water, but the plumbing and cabinet were pretty destroyed. It turned out, the builders did not remember to adhere the sink to the countertop, so it was just resting on top of it. Luckily, they did not blame us for this disaster, but we did have to clean all the dishes in the guest bathroom sink. So much fun and yes, it took forever.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started off in my parent’s restaurant when I was 12, working in the summers. From there I worked in various restaurants all through high school and eventually went to college at Johnson & Wales University. I did two years in Charleston SC and two years in Providence RI. During that time, I mostly worked in fine dining restaurants that were a part of bed and breakfast boutique hotels such as Circa 1886 at the Wentworth Mansion and the Spiced Pear at the Chanler House. I also worked at Foxwoods Casinos, but I preferred the fine dining experiences. I also took part in the study abroad program and went to culinary school in Bangkok Thailand and Singapore for a summer. When I returned to the states I worked at the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta in the pastry department. Then I was the Corporate Pastry Sous Chef for Concentrics restaurant group where I helped develop several different desserts and breads for many of their restaurants. After this I was the Executive Pasty Chef of Canoe in Vinings for 3 years. I developed the Popcorn Ice Cream dessert, the Grotto dessert, and revamped the breads and Sunday brunch pastries. At the end of my time there I had reunited with my ex-girlfriend, who is now my wife, and became a stepdad to a one and half year old. Knowing what the work life balance is like in the food industry, I decided I no longer wanted to be a part of that industry. Instead, I went into teaching Baking & Pastry at Le Cordon Bleu for the next six years. In 2017 all the North American campuses were closed, and we were all laid off. A friend of mine reached out to me to see if I could help her with some private dinner parties and that’s how I got started doing private chef work. Then one day I was experimenting with making chocolate bonbons at home and posted some pictures online. My friends and family asked where they could buy them, and I said nowhere, which apparently was unacceptable. So, then I started an online chocolate shop as well.

Today I offer private dinner parties and cooking classes and still run an online chocolate shop. I have Thai, Italian, French, Modern American, and Japanese menus that you can pick from. I also teach Sushi classes at Cooks Warehouse almost monthly. For my dinner parties and classes at home, I primarily accommodate small groups, especially for the classes since most home kitchens are not suited for large groups. For the dinner partes we usually cap it at about fifteen people, but I have cooked for as few as two people as well.

My chocolates are mostly used as client gift boxes for financial advisors, but I also do wedding favors, and I do have an online retail shop. I generally focus on major holidays for my shop, so you’ll see themed boxes for Valentines, sometimes Easter, Mother’s Day, Halloween, and definitely Christmas. I also did the chocolates for the Harry Potter exhibit that was here in 2022. I started participating in farmers markets starting last year so this year you will most likely find me at the Dunwoody Farmers Market, the Peachtree Corners Farmers Market and probably some others. I only use very high-end couverture chocolate that comes from France, Italy, and Ecuador. I exclusively use Pearson Farm peaches and pecans for my Georgia Box which consists of a Peaches & Cream White Chocolate bonbon and a Caramelized Georgia Pecan Crunch Milk Chocolate bonbon, but I have a plethora of flavors. I primarily do themed boxes that come in sets, but I do allow requests as well so if someone wanted an entire box of Lemon Meringue Tart White Chocolate bonbons, they could just email me, and I can most likely make it happen; It just might take a little while if I don’t already have them in stock. As of lasty year I also started offering Caramel Corn which is the same Caramel Corn that I made for the Popcorn Ice Cream dessert at Canoe, and Anise Seed Biscotti. Both have been a hit so far.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Honestly, it’s just word of mouth. I’ve tried running ads on social media, google, yelp, etc but I felt like I was just throwing money away on a monthly basis. I got likes, and comments, but it did not necessarily translate into sales. For me, word of mouth has been the best way for me to gain new clients. One financial advisor tells another advisor about my chocolates and then I get a new client. Someone might love the dinner or class that we did and ask me to come back and/or one of their guests asks me to come to their house next. I certainly do try my best every time but of course, things do not always go as planned. When they do though, word travels, and then I get a new inquiry. The system works.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When I was in the restaurant and hotel industry I tried to do everything myself. If I didn’t have total faith in my staff, I would just handle the project on my own. The problem is, when you’re the Executive Chef or Pastry Chef, you can’t do it all on your own. You’re also the person that has to attend all the meetings, and do inventory, and the ordering. So not only did I have to train my staff well, but I also had to have faith in them, that they will do the task at hand by the same standards that I have set. That was very difficult for me to do. I have a tendency to just takeover if I don’t think you’re doing it right, but a good leader needs to first train them properly, and then let go of the control factor, and have faith that your team will not let you down. If they do though, adios!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.temofoods.com
• Instagram: temofoods
• Facebook: Temo Foods LLC
• Linkedin: Thomas Numprasong
• Yelp: Temo Foods

Image Credits

Bio Pic credit: Kyle Reynolds
Food Pic credits: Thomas Numprasong